Flight Test
by ArtisticAuthor
Summary: Getting up to childish shenanigans is a lot more interesting when you have a sister with wings.


**Author's Note: **Another Anna drabble set before 'Of Serums and Siblings', when Steve, Bucky and Anna are only around 7 years old. Again I only own my OC Anna. Hope you enjoy and any feedback is greatly appreciated.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Marvel.

"Come on Anna!"

"You can do it!"

Anna squinted down from her position, long blonde hair billowing in the frigid breeze. Her teeth chattered, not just from the cold that burrowed into her skin and ate at her bones, but from nerves. The little girl watched the two boys below, the larger, a brunette with tussled hair was grinning up at her. Next to him, a much smaller, almost scrawny, blonde with wide blue eyes stared up at her with a look bordering on concern.

It was much higher up in the tree than she had thought down on the ground. Her heart skipped a beat when she realised how far above the ground she was and she hugged the trunk tighter. It really hadn't been her brightest idea, but both Bucky and Steve had been goading her on for some time now.

Truthfully, Bucky had been urging her on and poking at her pride the most, from the moment he'd discovered her wings. It seemed that, 2 years from the time she'd met the two, now was the time to test them. In that time her wings had grown considerably, shifting from being stubby and fluffy into strong and sinewy, and it didn't seem they were about to stop there. Her mother was constantly muttering about the feathers that always seemed to find their way into everything. Despite this she still didn't feel at all like she could lift herself even a foot off the ground.

"Alright Anna, Now stretch 'em out as far as you can," Bucky's voice called up to her from the foot of the huge birch tree.

Shivering, she did as he said, extending her grey, down covered wings as far as they could go from her shoulders, which really wasn't that far. Her right wing extended a good 3 feet along the branch before reaching its limit, her left one, however, was hindered in its movements by the thick tree trunk she held on to. Hesitant to move any further, she froze, watching as scraps of downy feathers fluttered away on the breeze.

This didn't seem to be satisfactory for Bucky, whose nose screwed up with thought.

"You need to let go of the tree, you won't be able to flap 'em properly."

Her eyes widened with the realization.

"I can't let go Bucky, I'll fall!" Her grip on the trunk tightened even further. It had snowed last night, not enough to cover the ground entirely, but it rested in shallow blankets here and there, bringing a biting cold with it. Most of it had already turned to muddy slush in the mid afternoon sun. Steve finally piped up, Anna noted that his cheeks were a rosy colour and his nose was running, he'd need to go inside to warm up soon.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea Buck..." his voice cut off as his small body was wracked with coughs.  
Bucky's gaze momentarily switched to one of concern at this, but swiftly changed back to his signature grin when Steve quickly recovered.

"If she can't fly then why does she have wings?" He then called up to the girl in the barren branches.

"Don't tell me you're chicken Anna, well, at least you've got the feathers for it."

Anna visibly bristled at that, her newly grown flight feathers rustling against each other. She wasn't a chicken, and she'd prove it too. Round face set in determination, she slowly released her grip on the trunk, inching out along the thick branch. She got as far as she could go without lifting her hand from the bark and stopped, her nerves getting to her again. The tree trunk was still blocking her left wing, she had to go further out. Glancing at the ground far below made her hesitate again, and her hand remained firmly plastered to the rough bark. One look at Bucky's cocky grin down below, however, made her remove it. Now balanced precariously on the thick birch branch, she dropped down into a crouch, numb hands scrabbling to grab a hold on the freezing wood. The cold had long since penetrated her thick winter clothes and even her fluffy wings, protruding through slits in the fabric, were beginning to feel it. She was also worried for her brother. She knew Steve didn't cope as well with the cold as her or Bucky, although he'd never admit it and she definitely would never say it out loud.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to Anna!" Steve's voice was noticeably hoarse now. Anna considered climbing down, she could get Steve inside in the warmth where, truthfully, they all should have been half an hour ago. Mum was going to have their hides. But if she climbed down now that would mean Bucky had won, and she definitely couldn't have that. So, face scrunched into a very concentrated look, she inched her way further out on to the branch, which creaked and swayed ominously, until she had enough room for both of her wings to unfurl to their full length.

Below, Anna could see both of the boys gaping up at her, obviously not expecting she would get this far. She felt a smug pride fill her chest. As usual, Bucky quickly regained control of his mouth.

"Alright, Now you've gotta jump off, and flap 'em as hard as you can."

For a couple of long, silent seconds no one moved. Then both Steve and Anna cried out at the same time.

"You want me to jump? I'm not gonna jump you bloody idiot."

"She can't jump Buck, What if she does it wrong? Or can't actually fly?"

"You force me up into this bloody tree only to make me jump out of it? When I get down I'm gonna force you up here and see you jump."

"What if she gets blown away? Or breaks a wing?"

"Alright stop! Shut up before someone catches us."

The two stopped yelling, but Anna continued to level a fierce glare at the brown haired boy. Steve, for his part, wore a look of concern so potent, she felt he may burst into tears at any second.

"Fine, climb down then, you were probably too chicken anyway."

The last part he mumbled, but Anna caught it. Anger rose in her like a fire, burning from her toes to the tips of her wings. She was not a chicken. Puffing out her flat chest, the little blonde spread her wings again, feeling the wind tug at her feathers, and leapt from the tree.

In the air, everything seemed to slow down, although she heard the shocked yells and cries from the two below. Remembering what Bucky had said, she began to beat her wings downwards as hard and fast as she could. The movement was strange, new and uncomfortable, her growing wings unaccustomed to such flexible movements. There was strain in her shoulders and stretch in her feathers and for one glorious second, she was flying. The wind whooshing past her and lifting her up. She was soaring and everything was blown away in a haze of pure freedom and elation. Then the ground came up to meet her.

Anna hit the frozen soil hard, landing in a pile of snow slush. She cried out as the wind was knocked out of her, tears pricked her eyes as the impact jarred her tiny body. Her wings followed behind her, landing either side of her with much lighter 'whumph' noises, but still hard enough to send spider webs of pain shattering through the tender limbs. A muffled, garbled daze descended over her world, stretching on for what felt like hours. Finally, her blurry vision slowly came back into focus, the roar in her ears morphed into words and her mind began to work again.

"Anna, Anna, Are you alright?"

"Anna? Please get up, please don't die."

Gasping and spluttering like a fish out of water, she sucked in huge lungful's of air. Fear seized her as with each deep breathe it felt as though the precious oxygen was being sucked into an empty void. Disappearing from within her, leaving her stranded, gasping, in a panicked, breathless daze. She had no air, she couldn't breathe.

"Anna, hey calm down, Breathe slower" Anna finally took notice of the two warm bodies pressed against her. Bucky was on her left, brushing the dirt and snow from her clothes and wings, a desperate and guilt-ridden look glazing his eyes. Steve was hugging her right arm so tight it hurt, his bright blue eyes glittering with large tears. She realised the two had pulled her up into a sitting position. Anna focused all of her attention on them, listening to their fast words and watching their frantic faces. Slowly, she could feel her breathing slow, relaxing back into a natural pace. She felt the air entering, the void closing up, stitched with frost, and the precious air remained within her lungs. She gave a hoarse cough, the chilled air having burned a path down her throat. Turning, she wrapped her left arm around Steve in a tight hug, her right wing wrapping around his bony shoulders soon after, he whimpered and burrowed into her neck.

"S'all right, I'm alright."

"You weren't moving, I thought you were dead."

Bucky was glaring determinedly at the ground beside her, unnaturally silent, she already recognised his guilty look was directed at himself. Lifting her left wing from where it had been laid out gently on a clean patch of earth, she whacked him softly on the back of the head, wincing slightly as this agitated the strained muscles in her shoulders and chest. He turned to look at her and she was shocked to see there was a sheen of unshed tears in his eyes. James Buchanan Barnes never cried. Anna watched him, waiting, her large eyes glinting a burnished gold in the afternoon light.

"I'm so-"

"You finish that and I'll make you regret it" she said, voice as fierce and sure as a 7 year old could get. Bucky's eyes widened, his mouth still half open.

"But-but it's my fault! I shouldn't have forced you to jump, I'm such an idiot!" With that he buried his face in his mud-stained hands. Anna considered this for a moment, then smiled and released her left hands hold on Steve, letting him keep her right arm and wing, and grabbed Bucky's shirt to pull him into a hug.

"You're both idiots" she mumbled, wrapping all three of them in her soft wings. The two snuggled into her sides, too cold and relieved for pride.

They sat that way for a while, caught up in pristine white feathers and snow. When Steve's hold on her finally eased, and Bucky's hastily concealed tears had turned to frost on her arm, she moved, breaking from the light doze she had entered. Anna was content to sit there longer, but she jolted suddenly as she realised that the sun was sinking further in the sky.

"Crap! Guys we gotta go, mum's gonna kill us."

She pushed forward, attempting to get to her feet but stumbled when her wings caught the two boys around the shoulders, pulling them both down on top of her. Anna went down first, landing on her belly and stifling a cry as this aggravated her rapidly bruising chest. She did, however, release a loud squeal when Bucky's large form crashed down on top of her, landing completely on her left arm, Steve's lighter, but still painful, form followed, landing hard on her right. The two were pinned where they lay by her wings, which were still draped over them.

"Get off me you fat lumps."

"I can't, Steve's on my leg."

"Bucky let go of my arm."

"Stop moving, you're pulling on my feathers."

Finally, Steve rolled off her, disentangling his thin limbs from Bucky's, whose weight disappeared from her left a few seconds later. Anna sat up again, rubbing at her sore chest and shoulders. She was going to feel that in the morning. She tossed a glare at the two over her wing, they both wore guilty expressions. Anna glared for a couple of seconds, before her serious facade shattered and she burst into loud, uncontrollable laughter. Steve and Bucky soon followed and the three sat in fits, until Steve started wheezing. Anna and Bucky immediately sobered, leaning forward to help him. He waved them off however, soon returning his breathing to normal, although it still rattled with a faint sickly sound.

After checking him over one final time, Anna got to her feet, successfully this time and carefully folded her wings to her back, pulling them in as close as she could. The muscles spasmed in protest, unused to so much strenuous movement in one day.

These days it was growing harder and harder to conceal them, they'd grown so much that the tips of her larger feathers often stuck out the bottom of her clothing. Her mum had gotten around this in the summer and spring months by dressing her in dresses and other long clothing. Now, however in winter's frigid grasp, it was more difficult, although they had managed it so far.

Anna picked up the too big jacket her mother had given her for when she was out in public, she had taken it off and put it aside when she had climbed the tree. Slipping it on, careful to cover her wings completely, she struggled to pull her arms through the baggy sleeves. The whole jacket dangled off her petite frame, making her look a bit like a deflated balloon, but it covered her feathery limbs and that was more than enough for her. Most people didn't tend to react well to that little revelation.

Anna turned to see both Bucky and Steve were standing now, the former was slowly regaining his stupidly happy grin while the latter was shooting him a look of annoyance. Anna noted with a hint of amusement that Bucky had forced Steve into his own far too big jacket. She would have to thank him for that later.

"Come on, let's go home, I'm starving."

The three moved off, leaving the huge skeletal birch behind, it was lucky Bucky had had the common sense to find a place that was well hidden from prying eyes. The birch was well concealed within a forgotten backstreet, lined with trash cans that had lain forgotten and rotting for as long as she could remember. The hidden nook was soon left behind, and in a matter of minutes they were all back on one of Brooklyn's main streets. The normally bustling path was already emptying as night approached. Yep, their mums were going to kill them.

They were silent for a while, just walking quickly towards home, when Bucky shot a grin at the winged girl beside him.

"That was a pretty awesome faceplant."

Anna punched him hard in the shoulder. Bucky yelped but it soon turned into loud laughter.

"Not funny Buck."

Steve seemed serious until Anna turned to see he was wearing an almost Bucky level grin of his own. She punched him too, although it was much softer than the one she'd thrown at Bucky.

"Hey, were you crying back there Buck?"

Now Steve's grin was almost ear to ear. Bucky's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you were crying like a little baby" Anna added cheekily.

Anna couldn't resist adding to his suffering, it was kind of his fault she'd gotten hurt after all.

"I was not!"

Anna and Steve both laughed at his flustered answer. Bucky growled and launched himself at Steve, grabbing him in a soft hold and scruffing up his hair. Steve squealed in surprise while Anna laughed at the two.

"What the heck was that Steve?"

Now Steve was flushing, pulling out of Bucky's hold and jogging to catch up with Anna. He glared at Bucky as he caught up on her left, as usual.

"Jerk."

"Punk."

"Idiots."


End file.
